The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1887-12-08
THE RESULT OF REFORM.
HOW PUBLIC PRINTER BENEDICT
HAS SAVED nONtN.
How the Radicals Had Private Libra
ries Replenished at the Expense of the
Government, ETC., etc.
Especial Cor. STATE CHRONICLE.

ment Printing Office Saturday morning.
While | was III the ante-rOOm waiting for
Public Printer Benedict, Major VIM. A.
Hearne. formerly of Raleigh, who was APP
pointed a proof reader in the Government
Printing office few months ago, passed
the door. 1 spoke TO him and found he
was very much pleased with his work. He
Is III he sam" room in which John Henry
Honer formerly worked. Mr.. Boner YOU
viii remember was turned out for ''parti-
san activity" | find that a kind hearted
politician put Major Hearne in because he
needed the position, but you and know
that the versatile NJ ior Is about as much
OF d Democrat as Jchn Nichols is an Inde-
pendent. | suppose while the Democrats
are dominant, Major dearne can be class
I'd as an lndepe ndent Mugwump, but he
has strong Democratic influence at his
back. | know all about the MoDUs OPER-
ANDI and the NONEN PERSONse involved in
his appointment. but it is one of those
little matters l choose to keep SUB ROSA
'"r the present. | won't tell on him as |
lid on Tim Lee and German for reasons
best known 10 myself. | hope he Will
.-eep his place, even if the Administration
.'.ould change and hereby guarantee that
the fate Of political parties cannot be more
mutable than the variable status of Major
.carne's political convictions. | found
the Public Printer busy with his foremen
to whom he was explaining his plans for
the coming winter. He will employ only
twenty additional printers for getting out
i,e Congressional Record. He says his
appropriation of 81 600, 600 won't Justify
bin IN emll'p>ug N this season the usual
,Etra 100 10 100 hands. He tells me that
ile has the work so Systematized that he
can take sufficient number OF printers
from their cases III other divisions of the
Office 70 enable him to do this extra work.
He j. thorough business man. lie au-
thorize me 70 lise the following facts aud
figures proving that he Is conducting his
4iiet Oh ~ economical, ,UuSineSs-hke basis.
i}rf0re / begin TO give you these figures,
however | must add that the twenty prin-
telS db1Ye referred to. have already been
appointed, anu that their term of service
MI begin December 9th. ! state this to
Itf'.ve!t uhS printer among your readers
rom cherishn@ any hopes of an appoint
intit III tie Government Printing Office
this winter on account of the large increase
N the tor00 ii the pas; years. Speaking
OF the economical methods now in vogue
Mr.. Benedict said:
Yell, the very day came mere in Sep
tcsnber Of last year, intercepted the ship
ment of II barrels Of stereotype dross that
We're Just being taken out OF the yard 10
be sold. | ordered them rolled back out
of the way and left them. | was pretty
busy, eud II sOme weeks before | got
around TO them. Then / was told that
the regular price obtained for stereotype
dross was cent and halt a pound. |
knew this Nas not more than half enough
and ii excited my suspicious ao 10 the CON
tents | ordered the II barrels emptled
when, there came to light, carefully hid
Il, ~ TO
brass rules and waste copper smell worth
) TO 10 cents a pound, and set carefully
up in the centre of each barrel were from
one to three new copper anodes weighing
about 30 pounds each, which had been
purchased by the office at a cost O 81
cents per pound some 80 apiece. How
many hundred dollars worth of govern
ment property there was in those narrels
| have now forgotten; but | remember
that | sold the dross at cents a pound
twice as much as had been charged for it
the brass at CENTS and the copper shell
at !, while the copper anodes We're secured
and used for the purpose for which they
were bought.
A great accumulation of paper not need
ed. was here when came in, and quantl
ties were delivered from time to time on
contract. ! rejected a good deal because
1t fell below sample, and cut down the
/ bills on the rest for similar Reasons. In
my first three months | rejected more than
/ 1000 reamS of paper on account of its be
ing below the standard of the contract. |
annulled one contract, entirely. On paper
! IN the warehouse, when took charge a
year ago, deducted from to 10 per cent,
! from the face of bills rendered, ON account
! of the inferior quality of the paper. Pur-
! chaseS made outside Of contract We're uni
! ,iy (.;ii u it.n to hat hoy
were generally returned with the demand
that they he reduced from 10 to 33 per
cent. The demand was always acceded to.
Shortly after coming here my chief clerk
reported to me that the roller composition
was cheap and inferior, and the rollers
good for nothing. The roller maker re-
ported that ii was almost impossible to
melt it for casting, aud that it WAS only
by the use of excessive proportions OF
glycerine and syrup that he was enabled
to melt 1t at all. Its appearance was
tough and |, ;,thery, and 1t had been cook
ed almost to candied condition in pro
cess of manufacture. | o not think ever
saw more inferior composition. The fore
man Of the press room reported that he
couldn't work it. and finding that We were
paying very high price, | wrote to the
manufacturer rejecting 1000 pounds re
ceiyed on the orders of my predecessor
because it was worthless to us and about
twice the price paid for the best compost
ton.
In reply to this came a letter from
Rounds, protesting against my action Ill:
letter ! answered as follows:
The composition yots refer to as fur
nshed by Mr.. Reid on your order Wa:
found on receipt and inspection to be in
ferior and nearly worthless, a careful in
quiry developed the fact that the TOlle
making department and press room hat
been for some time EMBARRASSED by the in
ferior composition furnished by Mr.. Reid
and as his prices were double those which
the largest and best roller-m making house
in the country charge for their very bes
compositions, Mr.. Reid's composition ha
been rejected Us of no use value to thl
office, and awaits his order for disposal,
lone of the handsomest presses in tn
press room was not a purchase, but dis
covery 1t was dug up. This Bullocl
press was found since | came into office
discarded and thrown away by my prede
cessor. in the basement of the old GlOb
building, where it lay dismembered, ant
, rapidly rusting and going to ruin. Il
another year it would have been only Fl
for old iron. Captain Bryan and Mr.
Sardo, foreman of the press room, sai
that it was better press than the neN
and expensive one which had been bough
to supersede it; so | had it picked out O
the debris last Spring, gathered togethe